A suspected biolaboratory found in a Las Vegas home and now under investigation by authorities is linked to the owner of an unauthorized California biolab who was arrested in 2023, officials said Monday.
SWAT officers served a search warrant on Saturday after receiving a tip that a biolab was located at the house on the city's east side, according to a statement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Officers took one person, the property manager of the residence, into custody but there was no immediate information about possible charges.
Investigators “located evidence of possible biological material, including refrigerators containing vials with unknown liquids,” the statement said.
Authorities said there is no threat to the public.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill said the home is owned by a man who was arrested in 2023 on charges of not obtaining the proper permits to manufacture tests for COVID-19, pregnancy and HIV, and mislabeling some of the kits for a biolab in Reedley, California.
The owner, Jia Bei Zhu, is scheduled to go on trial in that case in April. His attorney Anthony Capozzi said Monday that his client has been in federal custody for three years.
“He is not involved in any kind of a biolab being conducted in a home in Las Vegas,” Capozzi said. “What went on in that residence we are unaware of.”
Law enforcement took special precautions when serving the warrant on the Las Vegas home, including using a robot to clear the home and taking multiple air samples, McMahill said. Hazmat teams worked to remove items from the home.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation.
